Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 40

EP.40 Auction House 2

“Um, you know…”

Miria glanced at the bloodied Regina and seemed about to say something, but then she averted her gaze and spoke in a small voice.

“…Never mind.”

Jeong-hyeon watched Miria’s confusing reaction, then briefly asked if they had everything needed to enter the auction house.

“We have all the necessary items you mentioned. So, can we go?”

“… Huh? Oh, yes. But you’re not planning to take Regina in this condition, are you?”

“Of course, I plan to heal her before we go.”

“… Just to be clear, you don’t mean dragging her there unconscious, do you?”

Momentarily at a loss for words, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t respond and simply smiled. Miria, seeing his expression, clutched her head in frustration.

“That won’t work. The place values reputation and trust. Taking Regina there like a corpse would be meaningless.”

Jeong-hyeon inwardly chuckled at Miria’s serious reaction to his joke.

‘Anyway, the important thing is…’

Regina needed to be in a normal, functional state to accompany him to the auction. Since he already had a solution in mind, he decided not to worry about it and asked Miria when the auction was scheduled.

“As far as I know, the next auction is in three days. However, I can’t guarantee that the extract will be available.”

Whether it available or not was a matter of luck, but given his unique traits, he was confident it would show up. The main issue was having only three days to break Regina’s will.

‘Three days to intimidate Regina will be tight.’

Noticing her strong mental fortitude, he realized that conventional methods wouldn’t suffice and decided to add another tactic besides torture.

‘What’s that?’

Obviously, it was intimidation, something he was quite fond of and frequently used.

***

For someone like Regina, who had high self-esteem and strong willpower, direct threats were less effective. It was more impactful to target something precious to her.

‘Usually, that’s family.’

But given that he didn’t know how much she valued her family, and that kidnapping them within three days was unrealistic, he decided to find and exploit another of Regina’s weaknesses.

To discover her weakness, he turned to Miria and asked her about it.

“Regina’s weakness? It’s hard to sum up in one word, but if I had to, I’d say… value.”

“Value?”

“Yes. Regina values nothing more than value itself.”

Intrigued, Jeong-hyeon motioned for her to continue.

“Regina assigns a value to everything, not just objects but even the people around her. Based on the value she assigns, she ranks and categorizes everyone. If someone doesn’t meet her standards, she discards them without hesitation.”

At this point, Jeong-hyeon nodded, but he still didn’t fully understand why this was a weakness. Miria, noticing his confusion, smiled and shared the crucial part.

“This might just make her seem like an opportunist, but the unique thing about Regina is that she applies these standards to herself as well.”

The moment Miria said that, Jeong-hyeon understood what she was getting at.

“In other words, she can’t tolerate anything that diminishes her value?”

“Hmm… that’s a bit simplified, but yes.”

So, his course of action became clear. Value is something that is recognized by others. If he could leverage the people who acknowledged or knew Regina, he could use them to threaten her.

Having made up his mind, he set Regina, who was still unconscious, into a chair. Then, with a somewhat gentle yet firm slap, he woke her up.

Smack!

Miria flinched at his action, but he ignored her, focusing on the drowsy-eyed Regina.

“Regina, do you like parties?”

Regina blinked in confusion at his sudden question, her eyes darting around.

“I’m planning to gather all the first and second years to show them how much fun you’re having. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

By “fun,” he meant the tortures he had inflicted on her earlier. Regina’s chapped lips trembled, hinting that she understood.

He grabbed her face and turned it toward a nearby mirror, forcing her to see her own dishevelled reflection.

“……”

She stared at her pathetic state, her eyes widening in horror.

Jeong-hyeon leaned in and whispered, almost soothingly.

“What do you think they’ll say when they see you like this? That Regina’s washed up? That everything she’s shown until now was a façade? Or maybe this is the real Regina?”

He watched her expression shift as she processed his words, a smile playing on his lips. He whispered in her ear, feigning sympathy.

“One thing’s for sure, though. Everyone at that party will remember forever the sight of you crying and broken at the hands of a commoner.”

Having numbed her mind with physical pain, Jeong-hyeon knew it was time to strike with psychological torment.

Watching her mental state crumble, he felt satisfied. As he continuously probed her weaknesses, it became visibly clear that her resolve was breaking. Since he planned to discard her eventually, he had no reservations about pushing her to the brink. He made her keep looking in the mirror, forcing her to confront her dishevelled and broken self.

“… Stop… please, stop.”

She begged, her voice frail and desperate. Her pathetic state might have elicited sympathy from others, but he felt none. He reasoned with himself that if she had been stronger, she would have done worse to him.

‘If I were weaker than her, she would have killed me or done far worse.’

Therefore, his actions, while not justifiable, were necessary. Whispering to himself that this was something that had to be done, he continued to murmur the words she least wanted to hear, driving her further into despair.

***

Three days later, on the day of the auction at the Black Market, he looked at Regina, who was following him with a haggard expression. Though he hadn’t broken her completely, he had damaged her enough to use her at the auction.

He extended his hand toward her.

“Shall we go?”

Regina flinched and trembled, tears welling up in her eyes. He grabbed her hand and turned to Miria.

“We’re ready. Let’s head out.”

Miria handed him a new mask she had brought.

“Here. A gift.”

He chuckled as he put on the mask.

“Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. Just be grateful you’re not torturing me.”

In response to Miria’s playful comment, he joked back.

“As long as you behave, I won’t need to.”

Miria shuddered and replied.

“Please, no more jokes like that. It’s really scary.”

Seeing her reaction, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t resist pushing further.

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Miria quickly surrendered, raising her hands in mock defeat.

“I’m sorry… Please stop… I might cry.”

Laughing at her reaction, he pointed to the door.

“Anyway, let’s get going.”

“Shall we?”

With that, they made their way to the Black Market where the auction would take place.

***

Miria seemed familiar with the black market, having been there a few times before.

With surprising proficiency, Miria guided them through the maze paths of the Black Market. Seeing the bewildered expression on his face, Miria offered a sheepish smile and explained.

“To get important information, you sometimes have to come to places like this… so I memorized the way.”

Lee Jeong-hyeon found it incomprehensible that an ordinary academy student would venture into the Black Market just to gather information. Suspicious that Miria might be hiding something, he decided to set that aside for the moment and focus on the auction.

‘Still… it’s surprising that such a place thrives right next to the academy.’

He had his doubts when he first heard about the illegal trade, but seeing the extent of it was shocking. Realizing how corrupt this world was, he let out a dry laugh. Then, he saw something quite interesting.

‘Academy students?’

Seeing groups of students in uniforms wandering around like tourists, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but click his tongue. He had suspected as much when the Asiris token received VIP treatment at the gambling den, but seeing the academy’s supposed role models brazenly frequenting illegal places was laughable.

‘Considering the state of the kingdom, it’s no surprise these kinds of people rise to the top.’

Their behavior, shirking responsibility and seeking only personal gain, was all too familiar. Thinking about it, he resolved that they too would experience the suffering he had endured. Turning to Regina, who was following him in a daze, he spoke.

“Well then, I’ll be counting on you, senior.”

He pinned the Asiris token to his body and pushed Regina forward, fulfilling the condition to enter the auction.